Fluid-pressure engine



April 30, 1946. A L. HARRIES 2,399,486

FLUID PRESSURE ENGINE Filed 001;. 12, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 30; 1946. HARRIES 2,39,48fi

FLU ID PRESSURE ENGINE Filed Oct. 12, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 L, [we afar I Leslie ZYarras" April 30,- 194, L. 'HARRIES fiw FLUID PRES SURE ENGINE Filed 0ct. 12, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 fnm fir Z0555? Farrah? r: L. HARRIES :FLUID PRESSURE ENGINE A r l 30, 1 946.

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 12,- 1944 Patented Apr. 30, 1946 FLUIDJRESSURE ENGINE Leslie Harries, Coventry, England Application October 12, 1944, Serial No. 558,415 In Great 'Britain April 16, 1943 2 Claims.

This invention relates to a fluid-pressure engine, and particularly to an internal-combustion engine, of the rotating-cylinder type, i. e'., of the type having a stationary crankshaft of which the crank pin or other eccentric member is connected by connecting rods with pistons reciprocable in radially-extending cylinder bores, the cylinder bores rotating in unison about the crankshaft axis.

With this type of engine trouble has previously been experienced from the fact of lubricant being discharged from the engine. It is an important object of the present invention to avoid this disadvantage in a very simple and satisfactory manner.

A further object of the invention is to fully enclose the rotating cylinder bores, wherebyto prevent leakage of oil from causing diiiiculties, and at the same time to ensure the adequate cooling of the cylinders.

A further object'of the invention is to allow of the manufacture of the rotating parts of the engine in a very simple manner.

A further object is to provide an improved two-stroke engine of this kind which will be adequately scavenged.

A still further object is to provide an improved two-stroke multi-cylinder engine which will be properly cooled'and scavenged, and which will be very simpleand compact.

For a better understanding of these and other objects and advantages of the invention, refer.-

-ence should be directed to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings of which-- Figure l is a part-sectional end elevation of i an engine accordingto the invention, the view being taken mainly along the line II of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is, in the main, a longitudinal sectional elevation through the engine of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an elevation of one of the rotor portions, Figure 4 being a cross-section thereof taken on the line IVIV of Figure 3;

Figure5 is an elevation of the other rotor portion, Figure 6 being a cross-section taken on the line VIVI of Figure 5.

The construction shown is of an opposed-twincylinder engine adapted to operate on the twostroke cycle, and with scavenging and with fuel injection, but the engine in this case is shown as being spark-ignited;

Theengine includes a stationary casing l2 formed, for example, of a lightalloy, andin the arrangement shown the casing is built up of a main part comprising aside wall I 3' and a peripheral-wall l4, and of a closure plate lfi'providing the other side wall. The peripheral wall l4 carries externally annular cooling fins I! which are broken away or removed as necessary to accommodate various accessories. The closure plate I5 is secured to the peripheral wall I l of the main part in any convenient manner, as by means of screws H3.

The interior space of the casing I2 is of cylindrical shape, and coaxially disposed therein is a rotor l9 comprised of two main portions 2% and 2| (see Figures 3 and 5, respectively) which are secured to one another by means of bolts entered through the holes 22 provided for the purpose. The side walls of the rotor and the peripheral wall thereof abut the corresponding walls of the casing l2. The joint between the two rotor portions 29, 2| is in a plane at right angles to the axis of the casing and substantially centrally thereof.

Each rotor portion is formed, in this instance, with two semi-cylindrical bores 24, 25, those of one portion being complementary with those of the other so as to jointly form complete cylinder bores when the portions have been studded together. Figure 2 shows liners 25 fitted into the built-up bores 24, 25, respectively. The bores extend from the outer periphery of the rotor to a central cylindrical space 28 therein, this space being'formed jointly by the two portions. Between the two semi-cylindrical bores in each rotor portion I provide recesses, as indicated at 29, 30, the recesses in one rotor'portion being complementary to those. of the other so as to jointly form enclosed jacket spaces 29, 30 when the rotor portions are studded together.

The rotor portion 20 is recessed at its .outer face toreceive a lug 32, secured thereto by means of screws passed through holes 33 provided for the purpose, which is fast with a shaft 34. The latter is journalled (Figure 2) to rotate in a bearing 36 carried by a hollow hub 31 fast with the casing portion l5. The other rotor portion 21 is recessed at its outer face to receive 2. lug 39, secured thereto by means of' screws passed through holes 4!] provided therein for the, purpose, which is fast with a shaft 4| journalled in abearing 42 carried by a hollow hub 43 fast with pins 5| with pistons 52, 53 which are adapted to reciprocate in the cylinder bores as the rotor rotates.

The other end of the crank shaft is locked to a stationary casing 55 which encloses various supplementary parts of the engine and which is bolted to the stationary rotor casing portion l3.

Disposed within the casing 55 is an eccentric or cam 51 fast on the hollow shaft 4| and engaged with the hardened steel end 58 of a plunger 59 which operates in a cylinder bore 60, the plunger head 58 being pressed by a spring 6| into contact with the cam 51.

The plunger 59 serves as an oil pump for the supply of oil for cooling and for lubricating purposes. The lower portion of the casing 55 forms a reservoir for lubricant which can be taken in past an inlet ball valve 63 into the pump cylinder and delivered through an outlet valve 64 to a pipe line 65 which is connected to a pipe line 66 communicating with a drilled bore 61 in the stationary crankshaft, whence lubricant can be delivered through the crank pin to the big end bearings in a well understood manner. The lubricant pump is also provided with a second outlet valve 69 through which oil can be delivered to a pipe line 19 leading to an annular chamber provided partly by the shaft 34 and partly by the bearing 36, the annular chamber communicating by means of radial passages 12 with an interior chamber 13 from which the oil can pass by passages 1 3 (see Figures 3 and 4) to openings l5 provided in a lip 5 of the lug 32.

In this way, oil 1 or cooling purposes is supplied to the jacket chambers 29, 39. From these chambers the oil can exhaust through holes '18 in a lip 19 of the lug 39, the holes 18 communicating by passages 89 in the lug 39 with oil-exhaust passages 8| in the metal of the hollow shaft 4|, from which the oil is returned by gravity to the reservoir in the lower portion of the casing 55.

Surplus oil from the big-end bearings and rotor cylinder bores can drain back to the reservoir along the pipe 82 (Figure 2) communicating with the lower portion of the periphery of the casing |2.

Fast n the hollow shaft 4| is also a doubleacting eccentric or cam 84 which engages the movable element 85 of a fuel-injection pump, diagrammatically shown at 86, and also the plunger 88 of a fuel injector 89, the latter being disposed to be actuated approximately 45 in advance of the top-dead-centre position.

Fast 0n the hollow shaft 4! is also a gear 92 in mesh with a pinion 93 driving the rotor shaft of a magneto 94, by which current for ignition purposes can be supplied along a lead 95 to a sparking plug 96 disposed to be at the top-deadcentre position.

The gear 92 is also in mesh with a gear 98 on a layshaft 99 by which the rotor of a blower, diagrammatically indicated at I09, can be driven. The blower delivers compressed air to a pipe line I92 (Figure 1) connected with an inlet manifold I93 which is bolted to the casing at 34, and the interior of the manifold communicates with the interior of the stationary casing I2 over an area of approximately 45, i. e., through an inlet port bounded by the ends I and I06.

An exhaust manifold I98 (Figure 2), secured to the stationary casing portion |5 by bolts I09, communicates with a main, arcuate, exhaust port H0, in the side wall |5 of the stationary casing, which also extends over an angle of approximate- 1y 45 and which angularly overlaps slightly the inlet port I05, I06. Each cylinder bore has on one side a kidney-shaped exhaust port 2 situated so as to be uncovered by the piston, during the rotation of the rotor, when the latter has travelled approximately two-thirds of its stroke from the out-centre position.

An annular sealing ring H4 is mounted in the rotor around each exhaust port 2, and an annular sealing ring H6 is mounted in the rotor round each of the outer ends of the cylinder bores.

The operation of the engine is as follows: Figure 2 shows a piston 52 at the top-deadcentre position. A charge in the outer end of the cylinder bore has been compressed and is being ignited, so that the power stroke of this piston is just beginning. The exhaust port N2 of the cylinder is positioned to open (i. e., to become aligned with the main exhaust port H0 in the stationary casing l2) when the rotor has turned approximately from the top-deadcentre position and to fully close when the rotor has travelled approximately 210 from the top-dead-centre position. The air inlet port 35, I96 openswhen the rotor has travelled approximately 188, and closes at approximately 242, from the top-dead-centre position. During this period of overlap scavenging takes place. On closure of the inlet port the new air charge in the bore becomes further compressed as the rotor rotates, and an appropriate fuel is injected by the injector approximately 45 before the firing point is reached, which again occurs after one complete revolution of the rotor.

It will be understood that the firing strokes of both pistons successively commence when they are at the out-centre position, so that there are two evenly-distributed power strokes for each rotor revolution, the two cylinders successively using the same inlet port I95, I06, the same injector 89, the same sparkin plug 96, and the same exhaust port I Hi.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. An internal-combustion engine comprising a casing with a substantially cylindrical interior space, a substantially cylindrical rotor mounted to revolve in said casing in contact with the walls thereof, said rotor having at least two radial cylinder bore therein extending from the periphery to a central space in said rotor, the latter also having, between said bores, enclosed jacket spaces, cylindrical liners in said bores, a stationary eccentric member disposed in said central space, pistons connected with aid eccentric member so as to reciprocate within said liners, respectively, when said rotor rotates, means for supplying cooling fluid to said jacket spaces and for exhausting it therefrom, an induction opening in said casing disposed to suecessively co-operate with the outer ends of said bores during the rotation of said rotor, an exhaust opening in said casing disposed to successively co-operate with openings through the walls of said bores, said latter openings disposed so as to be uncovered by said pistons during the rotation of said rotor, sealing means carried by at least one face and the periphery of said rotor on opposite sides of said bores for sealing said rotor in said casing and confining the cooling medium within said jacket spaces, and ignition means carried by said casing and disposed to successively coact with the outer ends of the cylinder bores at the appropriate times.

2. An internal-combustion engine comprising a casing with a substantially cylindrical interior space, a substantially cylindrical rotor coaxially mounted to revolve in said casing, said rotor built up of two main portion bolted to one another and jointly providing at least two radial cylinder bores extending from the periphery to a central space in said rotor, said parts also jointly providing, between said bores, enclosed jacket spaces, cylindrical liners in said bores, means for supplying cooling fluid to said jacket spaces, a stationary member disposed eccentrically in said central space, pistons within said liners, said pistons connected with said eccentric member by connecting rods so as to reciprocate within said bores, respectively, when said rotor rotates, an

induction pipe in said casing disposed to successively co-operate with the outer ends of said bores during the rotation of said rotor, an exhaust opening in said casing disposed to successively co-operate with openings through the wall of said bores between the ends thereof, said latter openings disposed so as to be uncovered by said pistons during the rotation of said rotor, and sealing rings in said rotor round said latter openings, said rings sealing against the adjacent side Wall of the casing, and further sealing rings in said rotor round the outer ends of said bores, said further rings sealing against the cylindrical wall of the casing.

LESLIE HARRIES. 

